Jeanne G'Fellers - No Sister of Mine, Jeanne G'Fellers [best summer reads TXT] 📗

Lets everyone know you’ve arrived.”

“Let us see her,” repeated Krell.

Nyla finished cleaning the wailing infant and wrapped it in a towel. “Soon.” She stood silently over the child, gazing into her face.

“Please.” LaRenna filled with the pain a few Autlach mothers felt when their Taelach children were ripped from them. “Is something wrong with her?”

“Nothing at all,” replied Tatra, who was assisting in the delivery of the afterbirth. “Nothing at all.” She took the infant from Nyla and turned to them. “She thinks you’re impatient.”

“The midwife?” queried Krell.

“No,” cooed LaRenna as Tatra placed the infant in her arms, “our daughter thinks we’re impatient.” The new family cuddled on the lounger, Krell holding LaRenna and their child close. The infant ceased her crying, parted her pale blue eyes, and opened her mouth in a large, toothless yawn.

“Hello, young one,” said Krell as the newborn’s eyes fixated on her. “I’m your guardian parent, your sire, your gahrah. The beautiful lady holding you is your mother. Did you know you are the first true Taelach ever born? That makes you special. You’re one of a kind, just like your mom.”

LaRenna gazed at the little face that peered up at them. It was so similar to her own—round and glowing. Shades of Krell were present as well, evident every time the baby crinkled her forehead or raised her eyebrows in that peculiar manner all the Middle family seemed capable of. “Hello sweetheart,” said her mother. “We’ve been waiting for you. Your gahrah is right. You’re special. You’re ours and we love you.”

A new presence opened up in the mental link between the soul phasers, unexpected but soft and familiar in its touch. It didn’t exactly express words, more like a stream of mental images depicting happiness, contentment, and love, even a slight amount of hunger. The infant blinked, her pudgy fist finding its way to her mouth, one mental picture projecting stronger than the rest. It was one of identity, self-awareness, a name—Jenza.

“Greetings, Jenza Mallen Krell,” whispered Krell, unable to withhold the emotions that were already showering LaRenna’s face. “The future is now and it’s all yours. You’ve brought the Taelach full circle with your arrival. Welcome to the world.”

Sarian People, Places, and Words

aerolaunch. Mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for long-distance travel.

Asabane Tackwell. Starnes Banes’s father.

Autlach. Indigenous species to Saria Two, the second planet orbiting Sixty-One Cygni, short and stocky humanoids with dark features. Also called Aut for short.

bandit beast. Large, bison-like species native to and extinct on Saria Two but successfully reestablished by the Taelach on Saria Three.

battle braid. Taelach marker of battle victories and military rank worn in the hair.

Belsas Exzal. Taelach of All, life mate of Chandrey Belsas, guardian raiser of LaRenna Belsas.

bitterwine. Thick unsweetened berry wine.

blood marking. Archaic Taelach commitment ceremony; nuptials.

Brandoff Creiloff. Twin of Cance Creiloff, drug-addicted guardian and escapee from Trimar prison colony.

Cance Creiloff. Twin sister of Brandoff Creiloff, drug-addicted guardian, former Kimshee second officer in Silver Kinship, Chandrey Belsas’s ex-life mate and escapee from the Taelach Trimar prison colony.

Chandrey Belsas. Raiser of LaRenna Belsas, life mate of Belsas Exzal, former life mate of Cance Creiloff.

crystal. Silicone substance found naturally on Saria Two, used for windows and containers; comparable to glass.

Death Stone. Marker used to record names of Autlachs buried in communal graves.

Farstar. Sixth planet in the Sarian system and location of the Trimar prison colony.

Firman Middle. Autlach brother of Krell Middle.

Firewall. First planet and uninhabitable world in Sarian solar system.

gahrah. Term of endearment Taelach daughters use for their guardian raiser.

grand master. Highest rank in the Silver Kinship military officer hierarchy.

guardian. Taelach who chooses to live in a more masculine role; butch.

healer. Autlach or Taelach physician.

Hiding Cave. Taelach stronghold containing items necessary for survival during times of trouble.

hunt. Outdated Autlach practice of capturing Taelachs for ritual execution or use as slaves.

Iralian commitment. A highly evolved reptilian species known for eating captives alive as a means of torture, originating in a star system near the Sarian system.

land-sculpting. Taelach process of terraforming (earth-shaping) a planet or moon in order to make it habitable.

Langus. Only moon of Saria Two and main agricultural resource for the Autlach.

LaRenna Belsas. True female daughter of Chandrey and Belsas Exzal, Silver Kinship Kimshee and junior officer apprenticed to First Officer Kimshee Krell Middle.

launch. Overland mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for short-distance travel.

life braid. Taelach marker of family and clan affiliation worn in the hair.

life mate. An oathed Taelach.

Kimshee. Silver Kinship military officers trained in diplomacy, Autlach customs, and advanced telepathy.

Krell Middle. Autlach-raised guardian Taelach, and First Officer Kimshee in Silver Kinship military.

Malley Whellen. Third officer engineer and LaRenna Belsas’s roommate during officer training.

moon cycle. Thirty days on the Sarian calendar, comparable to one month.

Mother Maker. Taelach deity comparable to Gaia.

Myeflar. Moon of the planet Firewall, destroyed by the Iralian commitment during their initial invasion of the Sarian solar system.

pain phase. Lesser used of the two types of Taelach telepathic phases. It produces pain ranging from minor discomfort to death depending on the energy used by the originator.

Pass. Four hundred and twenty days completing the Sarian calendar, comparable to one year.

planetary launch. Mode of transportation used by the Taelach and Autlach for interplanetary travel.

pleasure phase. Taelach telepathic phase that creates sensations varying from enjoyable conversation to sexual ecstasy.

Prock. Native plant of Farstar; an addictive stimulant when inhaled.

Raskhallak. Popular Autlach deity that openly condemns the Taelach.

Saria. An uninhabited giant gas planet second closest to the sun in the Sarian star system, a collection of six planets and their respective moons orbiting Sixty-One Cygni; another name for the Sarian solar system.

Saria Two. Third planet orbiting Sixty-One Cygni, planet of origin for the Autlach and Taelach.

Saria Three. Fourth planet in the Sarian Star system land-sculpted by the Taelach